2013 MLS Season, Week 1: Predictions

PPL Park will host the season opener between SKC and Philadelphia. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)

Ah, it is Friday so you know that means it is prediction time.

There are already a slew of content posted previewing the new season. You can also find anything related to Week 1 here as well. I’ll try to keep the link format similar to that all season long.

Time to get down to the predictions for this weekend’s slate of games. Every club is in action except for the New England Revolution (boo unbalanced number of teams).

As always, feel free to post your predictions for this weekend’s games below in the comments section or on our Facebook page.

Saturday:

Sporting KC at Philadelphia Union: Fun opener here to start the new season. SKC is an exciting team and Philadelphia could be a club that may surprise some this season. This one will be won or lost in the midfield. SKC has the edge there but will need to prove they can win without Roger Espinoza and Julio Cesar in front of their tough defense. Losing those two was tough and getting over it will be key for their success this season. I think it could take a couple games to get on the right path for both clubs. A draw seems about right.

WVH Prediction: Philadelphia 1, SKC 1

Toronto FC at Vancouver Whitecaps: Oh the Canadian battle to start the year. Is Vancouver really going to be as good as some might think? What sort of lineup will we see out of Ryan Nelsen’s Toronto squad to start things off? Toronto will likely struggle early on here as I think they are at least a month away from being anywhere near where Nelsen wants them to be.

WVH Prediction: Vancouver 2, Toronto 0

D.C. United at Houston Dynamo: The loss of Dwayne De Rosario could be a big one for D.C. United. But I believe they’ve been expecting that suspension for a week now so they’ve been preparing for it. Don’t sleep on Houston resting a couple guys in the second half in this one as well since they have a big CCL quarterfinal date around the corner. That could dictate where things go in this one more than the loss of DeRo. A draw sounds likely here out of these two.

WVH Prediction: Houston 1, D.C. 1

Colorado Rapids at FC Dallas: Dallas was largely bad against the weaker sides last year and that has to change if they want to reach the post season this year. The shift to a 4-4-2 will help and so will some of the injury concerns that the Rapids have at the moment. Dallas usually does well in season openers at home and that trend should continue tomorrow night.

WVH Prediction: Dallas 3, Colorado 1

Montreal Impact at Seattle Sounders: So how good will these two teams be in 2013? I have high hopes for the Sounders while the Impact I’m not sold on.Marco Schällibaum debuts in a tough environment against a team that will present them with lots of problems. Osvaldo Alonso is suspended for this one but I don’t see that impacting this game all that much.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 2, Montreal 0

Columbus Crew at Chivas USA: The Crew are a team that I am really curious to see this season. They have all the right pieces to be either really good or just very middle of the road. I do think that Chivas will be interesting to watch as well under Chelis but I don’t see their team being good out of the gate just yet. Columbus has the talent to control this game and win on the road.

WVH Prediction: Columbus 2, Chivas 0

Sunday:

Chicago Fire at LA Galaxy: This could be one of the better matches of the weekend. Two really good clubs with lots to prove face off in the first Sunday battle of the new season. Chicago looks to be a club that could make some serious waves in 2013 while LA hopes to be the first MLS club in league history to win three straight titles. I think once the dust settles and the 2012 Cup banner is raised this one ends on level terms.

WVH Prediction: LA 1, Chicago 1

New York Red Bulls at Portland Timbers: The double coaching debut should be fun on Sunday evening. There are so many new faces on both sides, which could make things complicated or really entertaining. Maybe even both. I think the crowd factor will be a part of this but in the end the turf gobbles up the road team and Portland opens up Caleb Porter’s freshman year with a win.

WVH Prediction: Portland 2, New York 1

Real Salt Lake at San Jose Earthquakes: Some questions marks surrounding both clubs entering the season. But more so on the Salt Lake side due to injuries. Chris Wondolowski should open up his 2013 campaign with a goal thanks to the absence of Nat Borchers for RSL.